vimeo: Fantasy Elf Shot from Start to Finish using mocha Pro and After Effects by Imagineer Systems

Mary Poplin walks you through a project she is currently working on using mocha Pro and After Effects. The goal is to get a Hobbit/Lord of the Rings style movie with simple DSLR footage shot on a no-budget shoot. You could do this (with the help of a few friends to hold mics and reflectors and, you know, act and stuff) and with your own gear. And you can finalize shots on a laptop just like Mary did… and that’s the point! With mocha Pro, you can have the speed edge you need in order to create your own content as a one-man-show.

This is an advanced walkthrough, so it is recommended that you know your way around mocha Pro and After Effects before you try to follow along. This entire shot took right around an hour from start to finish, but has been sped up to around 20 minutes.

Programs used are mocha Pro for lightning-fast removes and roto work, After Effects for compositing, and Photoshop for cleanplate creation. AE plugins used are Neat Image to remove grain and Magic Bullet Mojo for color. Footage is shot on a Canon 5D Mark ii DSLR with a Canon 50mm lens.

This is a really good example of how mocha plays nice with other tools in your toolbox in order to seriously speed up your workflow.